Sorry about the wait! I've been really busy IRL lately. Let's get back into things.
Album: Aenigma
Artist: In Vain
Genre: Progressive Death Metal
Suggested by: mythsofmetal
Familiarity: None.
1. Against the Grain - Never was a big fan of most hardcore metal. The intro is alright. The melodies and harmonies feel a bit masked out by rest of the music. Whatever the lyrics are, I can't understand any of them. Yeah, I really don't understand why they want vocal parts if they're going to be barely intelligible. Towards the middle, I'm a bit more into it. As usual, it takes a bit more me to get into something. Yeah, the initial shock is gone. I really think I would like it more if I could hear the harmony a bit more over the distortion. As it is, it's sort of meh. Man, I wish I could just directly copy Trollheart's rating system.
2. Image of Time - Oh man, I can even hear the synthesizers over the distortion. It almost feels like there was no effort put into this album. The drums are really not necessary in between the beats. When the melody does shine through, it's just alright. This song definitely isn't as good as the first one. It also sort sort of feels like this song is trying to go everywhere at once, but isn't ever really getting anywhere.
3. Southern Shores - The soft guitar tunes at the start are a pretty good break. I figured toning the distortion down would help the band, and it certainly holds true.
4. Hyme til havet - Well, now it's back to metal. I'm a bit more used to it now, and to me at least, the composition is a bit better for the ears. Yeah, it's a lot better towards the end. I like it.
5. Culmination of the Enigma - I like the interplay between the power chords and the melody on the guitar. Lyrics here are very dark (I had to go to a lyrics page). This one is actually much nicer. A bit tighter control of the distortion definitely helps.
6. Times of Yore - I can't really think very hard about this stuff. I think it's better to just get into it. No problems at this point. Of course, there's still nothing that sets this album apart from the crowd in my opinion. The guitar interlude is alright, and the ending is pretty cool as well. Getting a bit bored though.
7. Rise Against - Wait, isn't that a hardcore punk band? Joking aside, this song got me pretty pumped at the start. The middle is just alright, but the saxophone interlude is pretty awesome. I want more of thi- Oops, nvm. I really think this band should be doing softer material. Even a bit softer would help.
8. To the Core - This feels like the stuff that belongs in death metal. Just simple hardcore riffs here. Love the guitar solo. This I can listen to. It doesn't get stale, for as long as it goes on, and it's generally just a awesome uptempo track.
9. Floating on the Murmuring Tide - The intro is a lot like the rest of the album. The quiet interlude is a bit longer, and includes piano, guitar, and a sax solo. The drums slowly lead the heavily distorted instruments back in. The saxophone continues, however, which I think creates an awesome effect. As the vocals come back in, the sax fades out. After the vocals leave, only the numbing heaviness is left. It's really really good. A second interlude comes in, with plenty of cool guitar. Suddenly, the guitar and drums come back in, and the beauty of the track is prefectly demonstrated. The ending part is really awesome. The heavy-hitting chords are perfect when combined with the more flighty guitars. The atmosphere is further enhanced by the return of the saxophone. This is an awesome track to close out the album.
At first, I wasn't into this one. I don't listen to much death metal, so I didn't know what to expect going into it. It actually really grew on me, and I ended up appreciating the place the heaviness holds. A death metal fan would absolutely adore this album, I'm sure, so if you're into that kind of stuff, check out this album. If you're not, but open to new opportunities, I'd say this is probably a good representation of the genre. For me, it left a pretty good impression, especially the last couple of tracks. So therefore, let me give it a pretty good rating.
OVERALL RATING: 9/10